I’m blogging two days in a row; stop the presses!
Today I had my dream come true, I became a real human boy! Huh? Did Gordon totally lose it? He thinks he’s Pinocchio? Don’t worry, I’m speaking metaphorically. Some time in July, I don’t know exactly when I lost my wallet. As I hardly ever use my wallet when I’m out I was able to stay in a state of denial. A quick catch up from yesterday I’m off meds and not in therapy so these sorts of things are going to happen. I told myself that my wallet was somewhere in my room. Perhaps it fell on the floor and got kicked under something. Perhaps it was in the pocket of something I rarely wear. I could function because, as I said before, I never use my wallet’s content. I use my phone to pay for everything and when do you need a driver’s license? Not too often. I had some cash and hardly ever use cash so that wasn’t a problem. If I wanted to buy something online that was fine, I had my debit card number stored on my computer.
When I got back from Falcon Ridge a friend performed a one-person intervention and convinced me that I couldn’t risk my debit card being out there where anyone could find and misuse it. It took me a couple of days to work up the courage to face this but a week ago last Thursday. I decided to go to the DMV for a new license and the Bank for a new debit card. Luckily, they are only a block apart. Unluckily they are 2 miles away and it was 95º and felt like it was over 100º. I figured I’d need the license to get the new debit card so that was my first stop. I got there and saw a security guard not letting people in. As I got closer, I found that nobody was allowed to enter without an appointment. I felt like Arlo finding the dump closed on Thanksgiving. They instituted requiring an appointment during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and never got rid of it. There was a QR code on the door that took me to the DMV website’s appointment page. I filled out all the info, there was a lot, and I couldn’t just copy and paste. I had to choose a DMV office. There are two in the Bronx with different names but no addresses. By this point I was at the Bank and had to walk back to the DMV and see if the name was there. I chose one at random and finally got to choosing the appointment time. It showed no open appointments. I checked all the way to October. When you suffer from severe anxiety and finally force yourself to do something, encountering a roadblock like this hits twice as hard. I went to the bank, signed up to get help there, and tried calling the DMV. There were menus to go through there and finally got to a person I could talk to. There were appointments available but the earliest was a day later. I was then called by the bank.
I use TD which is famous for its great customer service. This was no exception. The woman was so nice and empathized with my problems. She did not empathize enough to break the rules that are there for my protection. She couldn’t give me a new card on the spot because … you’re way ahead of me, I didn’t have a photo ID. The photo of my license I had on my phone wasn’t sufficient. There is now a way to add your license to the phone in away that makes it legal. I’ll try to remember to do that. My old card was canceled but now I had no card. The best she could do was mail the card to my house. She showed me how to get a new card on my phone. I didn’t need to be there. The new card was added to my phone’s Google wallet so I could now use it to buy things. Great.
Next step was calling my State Senator’s office to see if they could do something to expedite my appointment at the DMV. When I called, I got voice mail. I couldn’t find the name of my state senator, so I tried my City Councilman, Eric Dinowitz. I love Eric and everyone in his office. When he was running, he called me, and we talked for 20 minutes. It wasn’t a sales call, we just talked about fun things. It was like talking to a friend. I’ve had to call his office a few times and everyone on h is staff is like that. The young woman that answered my call was. She couldn’t do anything as the DMV is a state department, but she told me what her friend did in a similar situation. She then connected me with my State Assemblyman. I found out it was David Dinowitz, Eric’s father. That made me feel good. The woman there couldn’t help me get an appointment, but she told me how I can order a replacement license online.
I walked home, this time it was only 1.5 miles as I walked a smarter route. I went to the DMV Website and found that to get a replacement I had to pay a fee. Great except it couldn’t be via PayPal. I needed a credit or debit card. While I had a working card on my phone, I couldn’t see that the account number was. That’s another security rule for my protection but now proved a hurdle. I took some cash and went in search of a place to buy a prepaid debit card. The supermarket didn’t sell them. Someone suggested the pharmacy. They didn’t see them, but they told me that the Walgreen 0.6 miles away. I got the card, went home, and finally ordered my new license. Now all I had to do was wait.
Today, 9 days later I got both the license and debit card and that’s when I became a real human boy.
Wise Madness 